Quote Originally Posted by La Cucaracha View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Silkeyjoe View Post
Murata at middleweight looks very good, although not that young. Good amateur pedigree and exciting fighter. At MW he is one of the bigger lads which might help boost his popularity.

Naoye Inoue looks one of the most complete boxers I have ever seen. At just 21 he is going for a world title in a 2nd weight class in just his 8th fight. His younger brother, Takuma, also looks a ridiculously good prospect at just 18.

Ioka, despite having a loss, looks a very good fighter too. Yamanaka, although a bit old, is very useful. THe Kameda brothers. Youngster Ryo Matsumoto and Shohei Omori look promising too.
You forgot Kosei Tanaka

If Inoue were to beat Gonzalez I'd say he makes top 3-5
Yay another fan of the KO Dream Boy!

Another that will emerge later this year is Hinata Maruta, he's expected to debut against a world ranked foe in the fall.
Ken Shiro is pretty good too
Riku Kano wants to set a Japanese record for youngest national champion so he might be worth putting on the radar.

As for the actual question, no. Well...not as regarded by the US media. In reality I'd go with Gonzalez being the #1 personally and a win for Inoue over Gonzalez would be enough, given what he's already done, to over take him. US media and what is real are very different. Fighter of the year being anyone but Inoue is a joke, Tanaka not getting a mention in the west as Prospect of the year is a joke as well...